1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to supporting legs for portable computers and, more particularly, to a portable computer that has supporting legs that endeavour to minimize the fatigue experienced by the hands of a user while typing.
2. Background Art
The importance of comfort while utilizing a keyboard or portable computer is not fully recognized in the art. One method of reducing the fatigue associated with the operation of a keyboard or a portable computer has been to raise the rear portion of the unit to provide the user with an inclined keyboard or portable computer surface to use. This has led to the development of many different supporting mechanisms. By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,567,327 to Cheng entitled Portable Computer with Supporting Legs, discloses two rear supporting legs pivotally attached to the outside of a portable computer. U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,361 to Kobayaski entitled Device Having a Slider Portion and a Stand Portion for Titling a Compact Electronic Apparatus, discusses rear supporting legs for a laptop computer that slide into position.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,748 to Obermeyer entitled Leg Assembly for a Keyboard or the Like, mentions a hinge plate pivotally connected to the rear of a laptop computer to raise the keyboard. U.S. Pat. No. 5,574,446 to Dittrich entitled Keyboard, shows rear supporting legs mounted between web structures in a keyboard. U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,124 to Bertina entitled Keyboard Having Variable Inclination of the Key Plane, shows two supporting legs for a keyboard that are pivotally connected and capable of locking into different angles relative to the bottom of the keyboard. U.S. Pat. No. 4,592,528 to Still entitled Leg Assembly for a Keyboard or the Like, shows a keyboard with simple leg supports. I have observed that, as evidenced by these exemplars, that these supporting legs are not particularly easy to assemble, to use, or to manufacture.